This great meme is hosted by Sheila at“Book Journey”.It’s a great way to start the week andfind out what other bloggers are reading.My To-Be-Read pile has grown to anunbelievable number thanks to this meme.

It was a great week until the weekend. Saturday morning I found out the author Judi McCoy passed away. She has been in a diabetic coma for awhile but just a few days ago the doctors still felt she would recover. Judi was the author of the Dog Walker Mysteries and her new book is coming out March 6. Please keep her family and friends in your prayers.

Then I had decided not to watch Whitney Houston’s funeral because I was really against it being televised but it just drew me in. The memories, the music, the preaching by Marvin Winans was wonderful. The commentators said the Houston Family had taken the world to church and that was the truth. A beautiful home-going service for Whitney. I won’t lie, I shed a few tears but when Whitney’s voice started to sing I Will Always Love You and the pallbearers lifted the casket to their shoulders I completely lost it and was crying buckets. While I do believe her family should be able to grieve in peace and out of the public eye, I truly thank the Houston family for sharing this service with us as they have shared Whitney with the world for 30 years.

Now let’s talk books!

FINISHED

Sonoma Rose (Elm Creek Quilts)Advanced Review Copy From Dutton Release Date: February 21, 2012 This will catch me up on the Elm Creek Quilters Series for the
Finish The Series Challenge.
Review Will Be Up Tuesday!

I had the funeral on one of my sets. I can not blame you for crying. If you want a good cry, see the movie “War Horse” – I was crying at the end. I had not heard about Judi McCoy dying. It is always sad to lose an author. I finished Unorthodox, last week – it is my U in the A-Z Challenge and my non-fiction in the Eclectic Challenge. I also finished The Walled Flower. Bought several books for Animal Challenge and found a book that started with a Q. I started Buried in a Book.

Thank you to my wonderful sponsors!!

Midnight Ink

Anna Celeste Burke

It’s a Cowabunga Christmas in Corsario Cove for newlyweds, Kim and Brien. A romantic midnight swim in the Club Level terrace pool changes everything when an unexpected guest drops in wearing a Santa Suit with a couple bullet holes in it! Who killed Santa? Kim and Brien are soon swept up in murder and mayhem trying to unravel the mystery.

The honeymoon’s not over yet! Kim and Brien’s excellent adventure at the swanky Sanctuary Resort & Spa continues when an unwelcome visitor drops in on New Year’s Eve. An elusive marine GPS device found and lost again, unleashes another wave of murder and mayhem in Corsario Cove! What is it about that thing? Stooges, Krugerrands, twitchy detectives, and monks—oh my! Will it be a Gnarly New Year for Kim and Brien?

Lia Farrell

As Halloween approaches, engaged couple Mae December and Sheriff Ben Bradley have devoted all their energy to Ben’s campaign for reelection as sheriff of Rose County, Tennessee. The race is already too close to call when the sheriff’s office is hit with yet another maddeningly tricky murder case. Investigator Dory Clarkson and her friend, Counselor Evangeline Bon Temps, are visiting the mysterious Voodoo village when a resident tells them her granddaughter, Zoé Canja, is missing. Her dog, a Weimaraner nursing four pups, escapes the house and finds the young woman’s body in a shallow grave. Evangeline becomes Sheriff Ben Bradley’s unofficial consultant because her grandmother in Haiti and later her mother in New Orleans practiced Voodoo. A threatening symbol is left on the pavement by Dory’s front door, effectively banning her from the case. Evangeline and the sheriff’s office ask too many questions, and Evangeline soon wears out her welcome. Voodoo curses aside, Ben’s job is at stake, and no one associated with the case is safe until the killer is found.

Laura Childs

Maintaining good personal relationships with their suppliers is one of the secrets of the Cackleberry Club café’s success, so Suzanne doesn’t mind going out to Mike Mullen’s dairy farm to pick up some wheels of cheese. She’s looking forward to a nice visit with the mild-mannered farmer before heading back to their hectic kitchen.

But when she arrives, Mike’s nowhere to be found. The moaning of his cows leads her to look in the barn, where she discovers a bloodcurdling sight—the farmer’s dead body. Apparently not everyone was as fond of Mike Mullen as the Cackleberry Club.

Churning with grief and outrage, Suzanne, Petra, and Toni vow to find the farmer’s murderer—but as they get closer to the truth, the desperate killer gets whipped into a frenzy and plans to put the squeeze on them...

Gail Oust

Piper Prescott, proprietor of Spice It Up!, has persuaded Doug Winters, the mild-mannered vet she’s been dating, to demonstrate Indian cuisine at her shop. But before Doug’s presentation of classic chicken curry is completed, Ned Feeney, local handyman, bursts in with news of a murder.

Lena Gregory

Since she left her psychiatric practice in New York City to open up a psychic shop in her hometown on Bay Island, Cass Donovan has given her fair share of readings to conflicted customers. But what she sees in Ellie Callahan’s future doesn’t bode well.

When Ellie’s mother, Marge, publicly confronts Cass about the reading, the embarrassment makes her want to curl up and die. And when she later stumbles across Marge’s body—and is a suspect in her murder—Cass is suddenly the star of Bay Island’s rumor mill.

Cass is determined to prove her innocence and save Ellie from meeting the fate in her unfortunate vision. But even with the help of her friends Bee and Stephanie, Cass will have to channel some serious sleuthing instincts to find the real killer...

Susan Breen

After catching the killer who shook her small Hudson River town, former Sunday School teacher Maggie Dove stumbled onto an exciting new career and found a way to take her mind off her own tragic past. Now, despite her best efforts to promote the agency, Maggie can’t seem to land any new cases—until Racine Stern, one of the village’s wealthiest residents, offers her a thousand dollars to convince her “evil” sister, Domino, to stay out of town.

While Maggie’s business partner thinks she’s crazy for turning down a potential client, she doesn’t want her agency to get a reputation for accommodating bizarre requests. However, Maggie is soon caught up in the family drama anyway. Racine may fear for her life—and her inheritance—but it’s Domino who takes the fall when she plunges to her death from a tower at Stern Manor. Was it an accident or something more sinister? Maggie’s investigation will test her faith—and her ability to survive.

Kate Dyer-Seeley

Back home in Portland, Oregon, Meg is ready to take her career as an outdoor writer for Extreme magazine to the next level. Lesser journalists sling mud—Meg plans to run through it. To train hard for Mud, Sweat & Beers, an extreme 5K mud run, she’s signed on with the Mind Over Mudder team, run by ten-time mud marathon champ—and former drill sergeant—Billy the Tank. But when Meg finds her tenacious trainer dead in the locker room, she has a sinking feeling someone may have been pushed too far. Digging through the hidden secrets at Mind Over Mudder is a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it. Meg will have to tread carefully, though—or she may soon be running for her life . . .

Susan Boles

Quicker than she can stitch together the threads of a genealogy project she's just signed on to research, Lily Gayle Lambert finds herself embroiled in investigating the murder of a stranger who suffers from 'wolfman syndrome'. And, when a member of a prominent family turns up dead soon after the 'wolfman', Lily Gayle must find the link between the two and solve the mystery before she becomes the next target.

Kathleen Ernst

Curator Chloe Ellefson is happily planning to spotlight home-front challenges and German immigrants at Old World Wisconsin’s first Civil War reenactment, but her overbearing boss scorns her ideas and proposes staging a mock battle instead. And when a reenactor is found dead at one of the historic site’s German farms, Chloe’s boyfriend, cop Roelke McKenna, suspects murder.

The more Roelke learns about reenacting, the more he fears that a killer will join the ranks. Then Chloe discovers a disturbing secret about Roelke’s Civil War–era ancestors. Together they struggle to solve crimes past and present . . . before Chloe loses her job and another reenactor loses his life.

Laura Childs

The holidays are a busy time for scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand—but not so hectic that she doesn’t have time to enjoy browsing the booths at the Winter Market with her best friend Ava. The last thing the ladies expect to see is a lurching man stabbed by a serving fork, dying in front of them.

Maggie Toussaint

Dreamwalker Baxley Powell can't remember the last time she had such a crappy weekend. A twilight encounter with a ghost dog left her numb and disoriented, her dreamwalker abilities are wiped out, and the sheriff just summoned her to a double homicide.

With no access to the spirit world, Baxley bluffs her way through the crime scene where a movie star’s assistant and a charter boat captain were strung up and bled dry. In a haunted house, no less. Figuring out who killed these people will be a real challenge without her ability to speak to the dead.

Lesley A. Diehl

When Jenny McCleary leases her property to be ravaged by the annual mud bog races, the small rural town of Sabal Bay, Florida, is divided into warring camps: environmental activists versus monster truck fans. Jenny, who frequents the consignment store owned by Eve Appel and her friend Madeleine, doesn’t seem to mind when Eve and Madeleine join the protesters the day of the races. During the race, Eve catches Jenny’s airborne head after it is tossed into the air by the wheels of a truck. Now every protester is a suspect in Jenny’s murder.

Murder on the Mother Road by Glenn Nilson

Bobby Navarro rides his Harley into another adventure when he discovers the body of a young woman in the trunk of a parked car in Williams, Arizona, on old Route 66. Who would leave a car, with a body in it, parked on the main street of town? And, who told the police Bobby had been the driver of the car, because they soon take him to the police station to conduct an “interview”. Then, to make matters worse, Bobby realizes one of the police officers is a woman he had a crush on in high school. And, that’s just his first night in town.

Kate Parker

Why murder a dying man? Olivia Denis is hesitant to help an old family friend get ready for her wedding outside London. The so-called friend is a master at using people. As a young widow trying to find her way through a new romantic relationship, Olivia would rather avoid the large party. She definitely didn't plan to find the bride's grandfather stabbed to death.

Linda O. Johnston

Rory Chasen, manager of the Lucky Dog Boutique in Destiny, California, hopes her new line of good-luck doggy toys will be a hit, especially the stuffed rabbits with extra-large feet. The timing of the line’s debut proves ill-fated, though, as several local shops―including Rory’s―are ransacked and vandalized with spilled salt and other unlucky charms.

The most likely culprit is disgruntled real estate agent Flora Curtival, whose issues with the town give her a motive. But after Flora is murdered and one of Rory’s toy rabbits is found with the body, Rory needs all the luck she can get while trying to determine just who killed the superstitious vandal.

Murder Strikes a Pose – Now on Audiobook for the First Time!

Seattle yoga instructor Kate Davidson often acts more like a champion fighting rooster than the Dalai Lama. When she’s not teaching yoga, she spends her time hiding from her creepy landlord and dodging her best friend’s relentless matchmaking attempts. Even though her father was a cop, Kate has zero crime fighting aspirations. She has enough trouble keeping her struggling yoga business afloat while trying to live up to yoga’s Zen-like expectations.

Chrystle Fiedler

In a cozy mystery filled with natural cures and edible plants that you will love, an organic winery becomes the backdrop for murder! Fortunately, solving crimes comes naturally to charmingly unconventional amateur sleuth and holistic doctor, Willow McQuade, as she looks for clues that will reveal a killer’s true vintage.

Amanda Flower’s Cozy Club

Question?

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Retired Witches Mysteries by Joyce and Jim Lavene

With their coven’s spell book still missing, Molly and Elsie—along with their ghostly friend Olivia, her daughter Dorothy, and her boyfriend Brian—are all on edge, especially now that Dorothy’s infamously wicked father is back in the picture. So when they receive an invitation to an exclusive Witches Ball, the ladies jump at the chance to dress up and have some fun.

Like Joyce and Jim onFacebookAnd Followon Twitterto keep up on Newsabout all their Books!!

Renaissance Faire Mysteries by Joyce and Jim Lavene

When a fairy named Apple Blossom is found dead in the Good Luck Fountain at Renaissance Faire Village, Jessie Morton makes a wish she lives to regret--that her husband, Chase Manhattan, is no longer the Village Bailiff. She doesn't want him to look for the fairy's killer and ruin their plans to go away for their first wedding anniversary.

Trapped in a timeless 'It's a Wonderful Life' experience, Jessie is transported to a different Village to face the consequences of her wish where Chase isn't the Bailiff, and he's not married to her.

Jessie's fairy godmother who granted the wish tells her that she must find a way to make Chase fall in love with her again, and they must discover who killed Apple Blossom, if she ever wants to go back to the life she knew.

Alibi, an e-originals imprint from Random House, specializing in mystery and thrillers.

Cozy mysteries are still on the chopping block. Every new book could be the last in the series. This week the founder of Save Our Cozies had a conference call with the powers at Penguin Random House about all the changes. You can read all about it on the groups Facebook Page. You can also find a list of the series that have been cancelled. Authors also post there about series that are in danger. There are many ways we can help the authors and try to save the books we love. If you love cozies, join the group to stay up to date about what is happening and pass the word to your friends.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend books, products, or services I use personally and/or believe my readers will appreciate. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”